扒车喵2015年以前国内很多地方出行都需要坐普快列车，人们出行非常不方便，尤其是每年春节回家旅程，是所有中国人都很头疼的事情，但后来中国高铁创造了奇迹，近些年高铁飞速发展，肉眼可见地改变人们出行方式，给国民生活带来了极大的便利。
这种改变引起了外国网友的关注，美版知乎Quora上外国网友问道：为什么在欧盟和美国建立高铁系统的梦想一直在偏离正轨，中国是如何做到的？这引起了各国网友的关注和讨论，来看看美国专家的回答。
问题：中国在10年多的时间里建成了近4万公里的高铁，欧美为什么没有做到，中国是如何做到的？代价是什么？
美国专家Thomas Pauken II的回答
I was born and raised in the United States, while I have lived and worked in China’s capital city since October 2010. I had witnessed the rapid expansion of high-speed rail lines in China while not surprised by rail delays in my native country.
我在美国出生和长大，但自2010年10月以来，我一直在中国首都生活和工作。我目睹了中国高速铁路的快速扩张，而我的祖国的铁路延误并不让我感到惊讶。
I recall reading in news reports a few years ago that the California State government in Sacramento had proposed ambitious plans to build a high speed rail line that would connect San Francisco with Los Angeles.
我记得几年前在新闻报道中看到，位于萨克拉门托的加利福尼亚州州政府提出了一个雄心勃勃的计划，要修建一条连接旧金山和洛杉矶的高速铁路。
The State government had signed contracts with Chinese companies. But I anticipated the project would not succeed nor would they go into the next stage of starting construction.
州政府已经与中国公司签订了合同。但我预计这个项目不会成功，他们也不会进入下一阶段的开工建设。
California has massive public debt, the costs of land to extend the lines would be too high, California officials must confront corruption since it was a governed state under the Democrat Party and the bureaucracies would drive up unnecessary roadblocks.
加州有巨大的公共债务，延长铁路的土地成本太高，加州官员还必须面对腐败，因为它是一个民主党领导的州，官僚机构会制造不必要的障碍。
Well my prediction had come true. California lawmakers had also enacted new regulations forcing them to cancel prior contracts with Chinese enterprises participated in the project.
我的预言成真了。加州议员还颁布了新法规，迫使他们取消此前与参与该项目的中国企业签订的合同。
California has the highest property prices in the US. Landowners could have forced Sacramento to pay premium for the rights totheir land for constructing the rail line.
加州的房价是全美最高的。土地所有者可以迫使萨克拉门托为他们建造铁路的土地支付额外费用。
dream blown up by Democrat Party State elected officials to give the impression they stood eager to endorse more funding for public transportation.Yet, they had no intention of following through on their promises and knew if they tried, failure would result from it.
加州高铁梦破灭了，这是民主党州选举出来的官员给人的印象，他们急于批准为公共交通提供更多资金。然而，他们并不打算履行自己的承诺，而且他们知道，如果他们尝试了，最终结果也是失败。
Meanwhile, the Chinese government and the state-owned CRRC (China Railways and Rolling-stock Corporation) has enjoyed much more resounding success building over 40,000 kilometers of rail lines in the past decade.Beijing had offered sufficient support for the CRRC to extend rail lines and the local Chinese communities were willing collaborators.
与此同时，中国政府在过去10年里建设了超过4万公里的铁路线，取得了很大的成功。中国政府为中国中车扩建铁路提供了足够的支持，当地居民也愿意配合。
China’s tremendous success in expanding hi-speed rail lines nationwide should serve as a fitting model for the rest of the world. Additionally, rail transport is cleaner for the environment than air transport.
中国在全国范围内扩展高铁线路方面取得的巨大成功，这为世界其他地区树立一个合适的榜样。此外，铁路运输比航空运输更环保。
